Christopher Plummer, the 82-year-old actor whose career in film and TV stretches back to the early 1950s, won the Academy Award tonight (Feb. 26) for best supporting actor for his performance in the dramatic comedy "Beginners." With the award, he becomes the oldest person to win an acting Oscar in the 84-year history of the Academy Awards.

Mark J. Terrill/The Associated PressChristopher Plummer becomes the oldest person to win an acting Oscar in the 84-year history of the Academy Awards with his Best Supporting Actor win for his role in 'Beginners.'

Plummer's Oscar-night triumph was hardly a surprise. After sweeping most of the pre-Oscar awards -- and charming award-show audiences every step of the way -- his win was seen as one of the few locks of the 2012 Oscars.

In "Beginners," Plummer plays an elderly man who -- after the death of his wife following a decades-long marriage -- reveals to his adult son that he is gay, then proceeds to prove that it's never too late to seize life.

On his road to the Oscars, Plummer -- whose only previous nomination came in 2009 for "The Last Station" -- collected a litany of awards for his "Beginners" performance, including a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award and several critics' group awards.

The night's other nominees for best supporting actor were Kenneth Branagh, for "My Week with Marilyn"; Jonah Hill for "Moneyball"; Nick Nolte, for "Warrior"; and Max von Sydow, for "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close."